Volontà del Cielo (Will of Heaven)
by Vynele
Summary: (Knuckle x OC) Was it really her will, for things to turn out the way it was? Or was it heaven's will? Maybe it was both. For her name itself means "Heaven". And heavenly, she was. (I don't own KHR)
1. Desperate Times, Desperate Companion

One late, quiet night, engulfed in sadness was a boy bound to be abandoned by his mother; a mother who was still too young to be one, all because she made a mistake in her life by trusting the wrong man. But she had a better reason to leave her baby when he was only a few days old in front of the only church in a tiny village in Italy. She cried as she left her fragile infant and walked back into her horse-drawn carriage. She couldn't help but to look back, while the church seem to grow smaller and smaller. Sitting beside her in the carriage was a man, ready to give her comforts.

"Stop crying, sister. I promise that he'll someday get back to you," he soothed the woman.

At the same time, a man dressed in a long robe opened the church's front door. He was sure he heard the sound of horse gallops, yet he didn't see anything. And that was when his feet accidentally touched a bundle, revealing a baby.

"A baby!?" he gasped as the baby started to cry. Then he slowly took the little one into his arms. He went deep inside the church towards the small monastery carrying the infant to give him something to drink. Now, Mikael wasn't a priest yet, he was still a pupil under the teachings of Father Giuseppe D'Angelo. Once the baby had calmed down, Mikael nudged the baby with his forefinger gently. Much to his surprise, the baby laughed as he grasped Mikael's forefinger tightly. His forefinger was now wrapped with tiny, but strong, fingers.

"Ow, ow, that hurt," he pulled his hand back and smiled at the baby. "You have such a strong grip for a baby. I'm going to name you 'Knuckle'."

Knuckle was raised by pastors and brothers living in the monastery for seven years. Mikael was like a brother to Knuckle and taught him everything he knew of God. Eventually, the boy became religious, although they never forced him to follow their path. Knuckle was optimistic, energetic, and healthy, since he ate a lot and was really fond of exercising. But there were times when Father Giuseppe would see him praying in the church, and those were the only times Knuckle would seem sad, but peaceful. The priest didn't have to ask to know that the boy had always wondered about his real parents. Because no matter how he treated Knuckle like his own son, he couldn't lie about the fact that Knuckle was left at the church by his real parents.

One day, Knuckle was tripped during a morning run. Somehow, a pebble hit his nose. It wasn't that bad, but was enough to create a small scar on his nose. Knuckle acted quickly to take some water and bandages. Being an energetic kid, he learned how to care for his wounds. But a wound on the nose was something new.

"Knuckle, you're covered in dirt. Did you fall?"

"Mikael?" Knuckle turned his head to see the young man approaching him.

"Oh! Your nose hurt!"

Knuckle snickered before responding, "I'm extremely fine! It's just a scratch. But, say, how do I look with a bandage on my face?"

"Hmm. Actually, it looks pretty cool, you look tough!" Mikael joked and punched the boy's small shoulder lightly.

"Then I will keep using bandage on my nose. Since I like the 'Boxing' sport, it fits me to the extreme!" Knuckle shouted out as he punched his fist into the air.

"Hey, be quiet!" Mikael shushed. "It's a church! Father Giuseppe will kill us if you keep shouting like that!" the boy only chuckled, and so did Mikael. They had a firm bond like real brothers, despite their ten years age gap. But those happy moments were not to last.

"Mikael, do you really have to go far, far away?" Knuckle asked as he and Mikael were hugging each other. Mikael had already been inducted as a priest for a month. He was appointed a missionary task to serve the people of another small village in Lipari, near Sicily.

"I'm sorry, Knuckle. But it is my duty to God to serve and help those in need. I promise we will see each other again someday," said the new priest while staring into Knuckle's eyes with a frown. Mikael stood and continued, "When you're older, you can visit me, Knuckle."

With a hopeful smile, they exchanged fists for the last time.

~ Җ ~

A year later, in a land of farmers, where small cottages were separated from each other within miles, a girl was struggling for her life. Her dress was filthy and tattered as she was lying on the ground and panting hard, gasping for more air.

She used to live in a small house in the middle of a field, being the daughter of a farmer. That was until her parents got infected with a disease that caused death within a week. Another fellow farmer had already died from it and that was probably how her parents first got infected. After her father's death, the sickened mother told her to escape as far as she could, before she got infected as well. It was a dilemma; she cried and screamed, for she didn't want to leave her mother alone.

"Celia! Listen to your mother! Do you want to die in vain!? Do you want **your parents' death** to be in vain!?" screamed the mother of the girl whose name was Celia.

"B-but! But I can't just leave you!" she answered with sobs and went on crying as she sat on the floor near the door.

"No buts! Just go!" she yelled and started to sob. Tears rolled down from her pale and sick face—that used to be bright and lovely. In her hands was a broomstick to keep her daughter away, only to protect the girl from being infected.

"Wh-why? Why does this happen!?"

"Run away, child! This house, this land, and I will infect you if you stay! Just go until you reach the next village!" she swung her broom towards Celia. The young girl was thrown out of the house.

"M-momma, I-I-I'm s-sorry! I'm **so sorry**!" She stood rashly that she almost slipped and was about to run away. "Forgive me for leaving you!"

She ran as fast as she could through the cornfields and the green meadows. The wind wiped her tears gradually. Still, her cheeks remained wet. She fell and tripped several times, but this didn't stop her. And when she was finally out of breath, she looked back with her teary, swollen eyes. Her house wasn't even visible anymore. Falling down to the hard mattress of green grass, she clenched her fist on her chest. She wept and wailed; in her mind was only regret.

_"We couldn't even hug each other before separating."_

The sorrow and grief in her heart were incredibly painful that her bruised arm, caused by her mother's broomstick, didn't hurt at all. She cried on and on and finally drifted into sleep.

~ Җ ~

"How much ye think she'll worth?" A heavy, coarse voice was heard vividly.

"Hmm, I don't know, she's still so young. She'll only worth a slave." This one sounded like a young man's voice. From his way of speaking, it could be guessed that he was smoking a pipe.

As she started to gain her consciousness, she felt a rope tying her limbs. Luckily, her hands weren't tied on her back. A cloth was gagged in her mouth and she couldn't see anything with a blanket covering her. The darkness of the night made the situation even harder for her to predict. She only knew that she was carried along a rocky road, as it made her body jounce and hit the sides of the carriage she was in.

"Or… We keep her to ourselves. What ye think?" suggested the first guy whose tone of speaking sounded nasty and foul. "Ye know, like an infestation. Bet on yer death bed, she'll be a real beauty in a few years."

"I like your thinking, but—we need this money soon and it cannot wait another few years!"

_"What should I do now? What is going to happen to me? Why am I wasting my parents' death? I must fight, but—I don't have the strength anymore." _

Her stare was empty and she was pale. Cold, hunger, thirst, sore, and wounds were all she could feel.

_"Someone… Please… Help me."_

Suddenly the road wasn't as rough as before. It was smooth and she could see some lights through. After another few minutes, the carriage was stopped. And then the covers were taken off from her abruptly by those two men. She scanned her surroundings and figured out that they were stopping in a back of an alley. They pull the cloth gagging her mouth and gave her a flask.

"Finally awake, eh? Drink this before you die from thirst."

She drank from the flask eagerly and choked when she found out it didn't contain water, but something strong, something a girl her age shouldn't be drinking. They laughed.

"We're sorry, girl! We haven't got any water!"

The man with his smoke pipe knocked the back door of the house where they stopped. A man opened the door and then soon they were negotiating. The stout man who gave her a drink seemed less intelligent, giving her an idea to fool him and escape, using the very last of energy she had left.

"I need to drink water—please." Her voice was thin and weak.

"Sorry? Can't hear you," he said.

"I need… I need water, I'm… dying, sir."

Although she was acting, it was partly true. The man was easily convinced after he finally looked at her carefully.

_"Come to think of it, this gal has bruises and wounds. Judging from where we found her, she probably haven't even had any water—or food," _he thought and glanced at his pipe-smoking friend._ "He'll kill me if she dies. But if I leave her here—well she don't have the strength!"_

"Ye wait here, ye understand?" he then hurried his way out of the back alley.

She took this chance to quickly release her feet from the ties, carefully—so the other man would not notice. Once the rope was released, the man with the pipe noticed the situation and charged right away, but he was not fast enough as she was already off the carriage and ran.

"STOP, YOU BRAT!"

She kept running with all her might with her life at stake. She simply couldn't let herself caught. However, she was only an eight-year-old girl, with bruises and wounds, and no energy. So she got caught before she even reached the town's square.

"Gotcha!" he exclaimed as he grabbed Celia's arm tightly, causing her to jolt. "Now you'll listen to me carefully, little girl! If you run away again, I swear I'll-ARGH!"

Celia bit his hand hard and then fell as the guy let go of his grip. All of a sudden, a hand took hers and pulled her quickly, so quick that her mind couldn't process the series of events.

"What are you waiting for!? Run to the extreme!"

The man yelled out curses from her behind while he was starting to run again. It was a boy—a boy with a black hair and a bandage on his nose—that took her running and guided her to the safe part of town where her captor lost track of them.

"Please, stop! I can't run anymore!" she cried.

With heavy breathing, he answered, "I'm sorry. It's fine now. They won't find us here."

They were hiding under a big, stone bridge where the only light they could see was the starlight, and the moonlight.

"I'm Knuckle," he continued. She didn't answer; she could only pant and sat on the ground with her head hung.

He ripped a small part of his already tattered shirt and went to the riverside. He poured a bit of water on the ripped cloth before he went back to sit beside her. With the damp cloth, he cleaned her wounds gently.

"I accidentally saw the carriage where you were in when it entered this town. I thought the pile on the back was odd, so I spied on them. I was about to help you when you tricked the fat guy to leave. But wasn't quick enough. Sorry."

"…"

She stared at him and was about to speak when she realized that she was too thirsty that she couldn't let out a voice. She mouthed the word 'thirsty' with her chapped lips, which was, fortunately, understood by the boy. He helped her walk to the riverside and there she scooped the fresh water eagerly and drank it from her hand. She drank again and again, so eagerly that her dress became wet. It was no wonder, for she hadn't had any drink since she ran away from home, except the liquor given by the two criminals. Her dried throat was finally refreshed.

The night breeze chilled her to the bone through her damp dress, thus making her shiver. So Knuckle hugged her and said, "Sorry. But I don't want you to catch a cold 'cause that would be extremely troublesome."

Finally able to speak, she answered, "Why bother helping me?"

"Why? Well, I guess… It's because I thought we were kind of alike, somehow."

"Hm? Alike? You lost your family too?"

He nodded. "Twice."

Twice? She couldn't understand what he meant by twice, but it must be something awful.

"I'm Celia."

They sat for a long time by that riverside and spoke of many things. The fact they were sharing the same fate made them close in one night. At first they were just joking and making fun of the two men who captured her. They laughed as they cuddled to keep themselves warm. As the night got older, they started to run out of 'jokes' and once silence fell upon them, the two kids shared their stories.

"I've just lost my family, Knuckle. I don't know if it's today or yesterday. I ran away from home because my land was infected with plague. My father died, and then my dying mother chased me out so I wouldn't be infected. I didn't want to leave her, of course, so she hit me with a broomstick," she showed the bruise on her arm.

"But it didn't hurt at all. She just wanted me to live, so I finally ran as fast as I could. I fell and tripped a lot, which is why I have so many wounds, and once I'm out of breath I passed out in the middle of a meadow.

"I woke up in the carriage and figured out soon that I was going to be sold, as a slave, I think."

As she finished, it was silent once again. The boy was just speechless, unable to imagine the terror she had in one to two days.

"What about you? Are you going to tell me your story?" she smiled.

He, too, smiled as he nodded before staring at the stars.

"I was abandoned by my parents in front of a church in a small village. A priest found me—well, I mean, not exactly a priest, Mikael was still learning at that time. I grew up with priests and Mikael was like an older brother to me, he was the one who introduced me to God. Father Giuseppe, the high priest, was also very nice to me. He told me my parents did that, probably because they couldn't take care of me, not because they didn't love me. But he was extremely strict, though," he chuckled. He then held the cross hung around his neck and showed it to Celia.

"This one's from Mikael. A year ago, he was finally inducted as a priest and the next month—he was given his first task," Knuckle frowned.

"He had to go to another small village and serve God there. So he gave me this before he left. I wish I can visit him someday," a smile returned to his lips.

"Then? What happened next?"

"Umm, just a few months after Mikael left, a riot happened. I can't remember exactly what happened. But, Father Giuseppe told me to hide under the cellar with some other kids. Ah, I forgot to tell you. I was an acolyte; I helped priests during masses along with the other kids," a spark was shown on his face as the boy recalled of his old, peaceful days. However, it didn't last long; his expression—once again—turned serious.

"Anyway, the cellar was full so the adults couldn't hide with us. Hours passed by and when I came out of the cellar, I saw nothing but the church's debris and remains. Somehow it burnt down as well as some houses in the village. I lost all hope but one; seeing Mikael once again. So I left the village, wanting to reach his place by feet."

"So, Father Giuseppe was… gone?" Celia asked.

Knuckle only replied with a nod.

"I'm sorry to hear that."

He laughed quietly and patted her shoulder, "It's fine. You've had your hard times too. I say, we look out after each other from now on!"

She was once again filled with hope and smiled widely.

"So where is Mikael now?"

"Well, he's in Lipari, near Sicily. It's too far from my old village; I don't know when I will get there."

"I'll come with you!" she chirped cheerfully. Her adventurer's soul was awakened for she was no longer afraid of being alone. She had Knuckle and Knuckle had her. He grinned and gave her a thumbs-up.

From then on, they ventured as kids by feet—or sometimes by wheels—and their destination was Lipari. They would hop on a stranger's carriage secretly or trick a locomotive guard into letting them ride for free. Life was an adventure for them; it didn't matter if it was a rainy, sunny, windy, or even snowy day. It was Knuckle and Celia against the world.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong> : This story is of course, before they met Giotto and others. And as you may have guessed, the words in italic are thoughts. Also, I'm terribly sorry because I'm unable to provide a cover picture for now. I will post it along with the second part, though. In the meantime, you can check Celia's picture using the link in my profile. However, it is her when she's grown bigger, she used to have long hair and wear dress just like any normal girls (Which I will be drawing later on).


	2. Inexperienced

Chatters, whispers, gasps, shouts, and cheers—the town was full of them when Knuckle and Celia had arrived. People were busy celebrating some sort of a festival. There were people in costumes and masks having a parade. Some were busy pushing carts filled with wine barrels, flowers, or tools; most likely for party decorations. Women were busy gossiping as they watched the parade and children were running here and there. Even stores were having discounts and special offers; one of them was the clothing store.

"Knuckle! Look, they're offering a discount! We have to buy new clothes!" chirped the tall but skinny girl enthusiastically.

"Hm? Oh, you're right! Then let's go buy some clothes! Especially for you, your dress is extremely ragged!" Knuckle responded with a half-shouting tone, worried about Celia, whose dress was not fit to be worn by a girl anymore.

It had been four years since they had met in a relatively unfortunate circumstance and then they ventured far—with Lipari as their final destination. Now, it wasn't easy for them that it took years. Not only were they children, they had also been lost several times. Mostly, due to Knuckle's 'extreme' nature that demanded to go towards whatever direction they were not sure of, saying it would give an 'extreme' experience. Or, due to Celia's childish curiosity, following something interesting and ended up getting lost. Some other time, they got caught trying to ride a train for free or worse—got robbed. What delayed them the most, though, was working from town to town. They were, however, normal human beings. They needed to eat, drink, buy new clothes, and more. Once they got a job, they would stay for days, sometimes weeks, or maybe a month. And if they were lucky enough, the family they worked for would offer them a place to stay for a while. If not, they were used to sleeping under the bridge or narrow-alleys after all.

Knuckle went into the store and showed the owner some money to prove that they did have money to afford some new clothes. The grumpy-faced owner asked his wife to assist Celia in choosing her clothes, then said, "Choose what you like, kid. I'll help you with fitting and all," as he smiled. Despite his scary looks, he was surprisingly friendly.

Soon, Knuckle had already finished choosing his clothes and came out in a new white shirt with long sleeves and a long pair of pants with suspenders worn over his shoulders. He looked around and saw that Celia wasn't there yet. Only some murmurs of her and another woman's voice could be heard.

"Don't worry, lad. Your sister just hasn't finished yet. We had found her a nice dress, but she changed her mind."

The owner, after looking at Knuckle's new look with a satisfied face, tried to strike a conversation. Knuckle answered with a nervous laugh, "Actually, Sir, she's actually not my sister. We were and are stray kids. We have no parents. But it is true—she's like my own sister!"

He was never ashamed of telling people the fact that they were strays. The owner frowned, showing some sympathy towards the boy. He patted Knuckle's shoulder and whispered, "Don't tell anybody this, but, you don't have to pay for two sets of clothes. You can just pay yours."

"No, Sir, I cannot do that, no."

He slapped Knuckle's back and answered, "It's an opportunity for you! Don't reject it! If you really feel indebted, then you can work here. You need work, don't you? Or you already have one? I really need someone to carry my shop's cloth materials," he grunted, "it's been hard, since our sons have grown up and chose to leave the town."

"Well, we had just arrived, so no work yet. But—I'm extremely delighted that I can work here, Sir! Oh, and my name is Knuckle. She's Celia," he said before bowing slightly.

The man grinned, "Call me Ben. You can start tomorrow, Knuckle. Just enjoy the festival today."

"But, Celia—"

"It's okay, Knuckle! I'll wait here when I'm done!" Celia answered from another small room.

"I'll be back soon!"

Knuckle went out and was excited to see the crowds' merriment. It was the first time they had arrived in a town, not too big, not too small, but thriving. He went straight to the town's square and saw a large group of people crowding in the middle. He got curious and forced his way through to see what was going on.

A square formed with ropes, tied onto a pole of each corner, surrounded two men who were fighting. But Knuckle knew better; it wasn't just any fight, it was a boxing competition, his favorite sport! The raven-haired boy was filled with even more joy that his heart was trembling in anticipation. He had heard of boxing before and got extremely interested in it, but this was his first time in seeing the fight with his own eyes. Each movement of each fighter was scanned with his eyes and saved into his brain, waiting to be practiced.

The man who wore a cap made his first move and threw a jab—but was dodged. His opponent was more perceptive and agile for he countered the attack with a punch from the under, successfully hitting the other man's chin. The fight went on fiercely, because the man-in-cap didn't give up easily. It went on for almost fifteen minutes until the man with the better agility threw a swift jab aimed at his opponent's face—but it didn't hit, it stopped halfway. While the man-in-cap was caught off guard, the cunning man already pulled his hand before jabbing quickly with the same hand. The rapid, powerful, and unexpected hit landed right on the nose and caused the man lost his balance as his cap was thrown. Probably also exhausted, he was easily knocked down, unable to stand up until the other man was declared as the winner. All those techniques were recorded perfectly in Knuckle's head.

He went back to the clothing store after watching the match. In front of the store, he was surprised to see his companion wearing her new short hair and boy's outfit.

"Celia?"

"Knuckle~! Don't I look great with these? The shop owner's wife was shocked when I told her I chose to wear a shirt and pants, so it'll be easier for me to travel. Then she understood and helped me anyway."

"You look cool to the extreme! Where did you cut your hair?"

"I cut it myself." Her lips' corners were hanging from ear to ear, seeming satisfied with her work. Knuckle, nonchalant as always, thought she still looked pretty despite her appearance. If anything, she was rather dashing, at least to him.

"Anyway, I heard you've got a job there. So I asked them if they had any for me and they said I could help them wash the cloth materials," she said with a smile so big, he could see her teeth.

"Oh, that's great! But don't push yourself too much, you're still a girl. I can't let you struggle as a guy!"

She punched Knuckle's shoulder and sneered, "I _am_ a girl, but I _did_ manage to run miles away from home before I met—"

"Before you got caught!" he mocked.

"Oh, shut up!" she laughed.

Ben offered them to stay with him—he even offered them to settle there. It was refused, of course, because their main goal was Lipari. There were several empty beds in his house that used to belong to his sons. Celia took pity on the old couple's loneliness, but staying there was never an option. Although Celia could have stayed with them, she chose to follow Knuckle.

~ Җ ~

After two months, they had finally saved enough money. Another reason for staying slightly longer there was because Knuckle enjoyed the boxing match that was actually held every weekend. Before they bid their goodbyes, Ben gave Knuckle and Celia jackets.

"Here, you can use them. They used to be my sons' jackets, think of them as a farewell gift and a bonus for working hard during these two months."

"We—we don't know what to say, Sir—we owe you to the extreme! Even saying 'Thank you' won't be enough."

Celia hugged the couple tightly and whispered to them, "Thank you very much. It's been a long while since I last felt what it's like to have a family."

The couple only smiled and patted them on the shoulders.

"Please, we're glad to be able to help. Just come by whenever you pass this town again," the wife said.

"We can only wish you many, many luck on your journey. You two are still so young. Be _extremely_ careful," Ben winked as he imitated Knuckle's habit of saying 'extreme'.

They were already close to Lipari at the time. Just one town away and all they had to do was board on a ship to Lipari. Unfortunately, once they had reached the harbor, they were not allowed to get on the ship. First of all, they couldn't pay for it. Secondly, they were still underage to travel by themselves, it would have been perfectly fine if they had parents to take responsibility for them—but they had none. Unable to figure out a way to sneak in, they became distressed and felt slightly lost. However, they were indeed like the sun that always shines. Because even during these hardships they could still think out of another way in a positive—even cheerful—manner.

"Knuckle, we can try another route!" Celia exclaimed first.

"Ha! That's what I thought! After all, I think I want to explore Italy a little more before meeting Mikael. So I will have plenty of stories to tell him!" Knuckle gave loud responses, filled with optimism and excitement.

Off they went for another adventure, and this time they were heading to Sicily. They could also reach Lipari through Sicily. Meanwhile, Knuckle kept practicing his boxing skills on and on until he dared himself to join a boxing match three years later.

When he got in the ring, he was determined to win and that was the time Celia saw faint, yellow, sun flames surging from his hands. Due to his passion for boxing and his blinding light of optimism—and probably his sun flames' activation—he won his first match. Everyone who watched the match was amazed since it was rare for a fourteen-year-old to knock an adult down in the boxing ring. On the other hand, he humiliated his opponent.

In the world of boxing, his name soon became known by people. Still, he was new in that world and was not experienced enough to be called a boxing legend. A year after his first boxing match, his strength was to be tested.

"Woah! You've earned big this time!" the fifteen-year-old, pixie-haired girl cheered on Knuckle's victory, which had earned them the most money ever.

"Yes! Now we have enough money to get on board! I'm extremely thrilled!" Knuckle kept speaking with a deafening tone of voice, causing the people around them to set their eyes on him, and attracted even the ill-intentioned ones.

Before they had gone too far, they passed a silent corner of the village and saw a _damsel in distress_. A group consisted of three men was trying to rob her—and most likely they had a much more disgusting intention aside from robbery; things had always been more complicated for women. Of course, both of the teenagers couldn't just stand and watch. So Knuckle exposed himself and yelled, "Hey! Leave the girl alone!"

One was standing as he rummaged the woman's belongings, the fatter one was holding the woman's hand, and the last one was handling her kicking feet. They turned their head to see Knuckle standing before them.

"Help me!" screamed the woman for help as soon as she saw Knuckle.

"Shut up, woman!" The man holding her hand shouted as he slapped her.

The one standing started to approach Knuckle. "Playing hero, are you? You should be smart enough to mind your own business."

Celia ran to Knuckle's side and whispered, "Please don't fight. If possible-"

"Talk to them? I don't think—oh well." Knuckle turned his head to the man and started his 'lecture'.

"Oh, another one trying to play the hero?" the man mocked Celia with a heinous grin as his eyes were set on a bigger prize—the bag of money given to the boxing champ.

"God won't forgive you if you do this, you know?"

The man saw the cross hanging on Knuckle's neck, and the sinister smile on his face had gotten wider, "Like God's here to help you." He suddenly hit Knuckle on the face, causing the teen's head to be thrown back.

Just when he was about to hit Celia so he could snatch the bag of money held by her, Knuckle had blocked his attack.

"Hey, that hurts!" he paused to glance at her, "See Celia? These kinds of people can't be reasoned with!"

He then threw his fist for a counter-attack and surprised the man. However, it missed. But at least Celia didn't get hit. Like being in a boxing ring, they were fighting each other until the man was getting overwhelmed. He tried using his feet, hands, even his own head, but Knuckle managed to dodge them all. Once he was finally knocked down, his friends got panicked. One of them released the woman's feet and went over to help his defeated friend.

"You idiot! I don't need your help! You were supposed to snatch that bag of money instead of helping me!"

"But Boss, you're hurt… badly."

"It's just a scratch!" he kept on yelling angrily as he tried to stand.

The fat one appeared to be smarter since he came up with a despicable idea—a threat for a bargain. He stated, "Give us your bag of money, brat! Then we'll release her!"

However, with only her hands restrained, the woman managed to break free. She kicked the fat man right in his vital area and ran as fast as she could towards Celia. Once she reached Celia, the three of them started to run.

"MORONS! You let them loose!" His two subordinates were clearly not as smart as he was, especially the one who came to help him. Without the fat guy, they started to chase Knuckle, despite having the woman's belongings. Since the bag of money was much more precious to them. Not far after they started to run, the so-called boss tripped due to his ankle that was sprained when he fell down from Knuckle's last hit. This time, the dumbest of them didn't realize it and kept on chasing.

"Thank you, thank you so much for helping me!" the woman cried to Knuckle and Celia as they ran. But before they could reply, the woman stumbled as a result of her pulled dress. The man who chased them was already close as he managed to grab the woman's skirt. She grabbed a hold on the bag of money and caused Celia to jolt before losing her grip on the bag. In the end, the bag was thrown on the road as the woman fell. Knuckle acted quickly to save her and blocked the man from reaching the girls.

"Just run! I will catch up with you later!" Knuckle shouted out in panic while he fought the man to buy the girls enough time in escaping further. They had no choice but to leave Knuckle and run, or they'd end up getting caught altogether—not even having the chance to re-take the bag.

Unfortunately, the whole thing was probably a set-up because more men came out after the sight of the girls was gone. They attacked Knuckle altogether, making it hopeless for the teen to fight back. He was inexperienced in facing real fights, especially when he had to face more than one opponent. All he could do was positioning his arms in front of his face to defend the attacks, to avoid them hitting his head directly. But, this was no boxing match, his opponents were sly. Once a hit was landed on the nape of his neck, he fell to the ground before receiving kicks from all directions.

"Snotty brat. You shouldn't play hero next time," the man who sprained his ankle came insulting Knuckle before taking the bag of money. "We've got what we want, boys! Let's just leave him be!"

He lay there facing the ground, with bruises and scratches. The moment when he could no longer hear the voice of the bandits was the moment he saw a pair of shoes approaching him. He muttered some words, "Help… me… Ce-Celia…"

"Celia?" asked the man, whom the shoes belonged to.

"She's…" Still trying to speak, he could feel his sight turned dark. "She dresses… like-like a boy…"

Using his last breath, he pleaded to the stranger, "Please-"

Then his sight turned into complete darkness.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note <strong>: Finally updated! I'm not sure how you'll like this one, so please feel free to give a piece of your mind ~ I've made some exceptions here, I _did _say that every time a new name pops out, there will be a drawing of them. But there are some exceptions like Ben and his wife, I gave him a name only to make it easier in telling the story. And it's because he's a very minor character, unlike Giuseppe who had a close bond to Knuckle (Even though he, too, appeared only briefly)

Also, Giotto's story route is going to be updated soon, I hope. I'm currently working on it. Until next chapter ~  
>(Also, I've uploaded Mikael and Father Giuseppe's drawing on my deviantart. Links are in my profile :D)<p> 


	3. Curious Folks

After running for some time, completely out of breath, and drenched in sweat, Celia and the woman had finally stopped. They had run pretty far and succeeded in escaping the thugs. Thus, it was safe stopping by the river to drink and wash their flushed face.

"Your friend! I'm so sorry! To involve you in this… God knows it's my fault!" the woman spoke quickly while still panting.

"Miss, please, don't blame yourself!" Celia, out of breath as well, assured the woman, "He's not that weak. I'm sure he'll be with us soon. It really is not your fault. On the contrary—we'd be the guilty ones if we pretended we didn't see anything."

She might be assuring the girl when, really, it was herself she was reassuring. She knew that Knuckle loved boxing and that he had won some fights. But it had always been one-on-one fights—never more than one. And somehow, Celia felt that it would be more than one against Knuckle.

They waited and waited. Even until they could breathe steadily, they didn't even talk to each other anymore to introduce themselves—as people would normally do when meeting someone for the first time—due to anxiety and uneasiness.

An hour had passed by when they could see a black horse running towards them. Both girls stood up right away, eager to see who the rider was. The rider carried someone unconscious in front of him. It was Knuckle! The stranger, whose hair was neat and tied, stopped his stallion. He jumped off before bringing Knuckle down to lay him on the ground.

"Knuckle!"

Celia approached her friend and knelt beside him. She poked his cheeks repeatedly before putting her head on his chest. "Hey, you're alright, aren't you? Wake up!"

The man had taken some water from the river and gave it to Knuckle.

"He was beaten up badly, but I think he's alive, just unconscious."

Her hunch proved right.

"What? So he was attacked by many? How did you find him? H-how did you even know me?" Celia threw every question that was in her head, eagerly interrogating the stranger.

"Yes, I think he was surrounded. And first, let me introduce myself. I'm Salvatore. As to how I know you, it was through his murmurs mentioning your name and appearance—before he was completely unconscious. I assume it was the name of the same person I saw running away before I saved him. Then, I end up here by guessing the path you had taken.

"Seeing your reaction when I arrived, I guessed right," said Salvatore.

Having her questions answered, she asked no further and just turned to Knuckle, trying to tend to his bruises.

Salvatore turned to the young maiden standing beside Celia with her hands placed on her chest—filled with a sense of guilt.

"Young lady, may I know your name?"

"My name is Renée, Sire," Renée introduced herself as she curtsied. "I just moved into this village a few weeks ago. I was assaulted when I got lost and these two saved my life. Therefore, I must thank you for saving him."

With a smile, Salvatore responded, "Very well, then."

He then continued explaining, "So… I have just arrived in this village as well when I saw the two of you running from an alley. I was curious, so I went to the alley to see what caused you to run so hastily. That's when I found him lying, almost unconscious."

Releasing a relieved sigh, he whispered to himself, "I finally found him."

"I'm sorry?" Celia asked, unsure of what she heard.

But the man didn't say anything and only looked her in the eye with conflicting emotions, before he finally said, "If it's fine, please stay here until I come back. I'll take Miss Renée home."

"Hmm. Well, I can't go anywhere before he wakes up," Celia answered.

"Miss Celia, I'm really indebted to you and your friend. Please come to my house sometime later, my family will surely treat you well," Renée thanked her before leaving.

Celia smiled nervously and scratched her head.

"It's fine, Miss Renée, we're not expecting anything in re-"

"I insist," Renée exclaimed hastily before returning a smile. "Please."

Unable to reject the kind offer, Celia nodded in silence and watched Salvatore rode off with Renée on his back.

~ Җ ~

Not too long after, Knuckle began opening his eyes slowly. His head was on Celia's lap and he could see the orange sky. The sun was about to set.

He thought, "Sunset, huh? Wait… Sunset!?"

His eyes shot open right away as he sat up straight quickly, almost hitting Celia's chin with his head and caused her to yelp.

"Celia!?" he exclaimed before grabbing her shoulder.

"Are you hurt? How was the lady?" he asked with panic.

"Knuckle, calm down! I'm fine, she is also fine, don't worry!" she answered. "More importantly, you were attacked by several men, weren't you? How are you feeling now?"

As his expression turned calm, he released his grip and sat himself beside her.

"I'm good! But, my body feels extremely sore," he grunted while touching his bandaged wounds.

"Good thing someone saved me before I bleed too—" he paused before making a shocked expression once more. With a louder tone, he continued, "that's right! I was saved! Celia, where is the man who saved me? He brought me here, right!?"

"He took Miss Renée—the lady we saved—home. His name is Salvatore, I think."

"Hm. I must thank him. I was too careless, thinking I was strong enough. Now we lost our money."

Celia pouted, remembering of all the hard work and people's kindness that earned them the money. Nevertheless, she managed to put back a smile on her face and patted Knuckle's shoulder.

"Look at the bright side; you're still alive, we also saved a damsel in distress. It's a proof that God really is with us, unlike what that brute said. You were right all along!"

Celia's encouragement made Knuckle smile too. Compared with years ago, she had become much more optimistic—even more than Knuckle. Soon, they heard the sound of galloping and turned their heads to see Salvatore with his horse. The man gaped when he saw Knuckle awake.

"You're awake."

He rushed his way to Knuckle and smiled as if his burdens were lifted. Putting his right hand on Knuckle's shoulder and the other one on his cheek, he scanned him from head to toe before hugging him. Knuckle was, of course, dumbfounded—so was Celia.

Knuckle pushed Salvatore lightly and said, "I'm extremely grateful that you saved my life, good Sir. But, I believe I've never met you… I don't mean to be rude, but just in case you've mistaken me for someone else."

"I apologize. I was just afraid that I had failed in saving someone again. And since you're awake, that means you're pretty much safe. I'm simply overjoyed," he answered, posing a fatherly smile.

"Now then, I've found Miss Renée's house, her family invited us for dinner. Shall we?"

Thereafter, they went to the French lady's house. There they met Miss Renée's little brother and sister. Renée had a little sister whose hair was gold and curly, with cheeks as pink as cherries. Her big, round eyes and long eyelashes perfected her doll face. Celia, who always had a thing for cute girls, couldn't help but squeal before squeezing the chubby, pink cheeks of the little girl.

No one knew why Celia was fascinated with cute girls, usually younger than herself. The tomboy herself stated that she didn't know why, that she was strangely attracted to them like a child attracted to butterflies. One thing was clear—her taste was unique; just like her interest in Renée's sister. Although the girl was cute, others would be surprised upon knowing for the first time that she wasn't a doll—indirectly saying that the girl was emotionless, and therefore is eerie.

Renée's family was considerably wealthy and surprisingly kind. However, such kindness came from feeling grateful that their daughter had been saved. Who knew what their true nature would be, had Renée never gotten in danger? Chances were they wouldn't have let Knuckle or Celia stay for the night. Salvatore, maybe, since he wore seemingly expensive suit along with his neat appearance—but definitely not two messy, dirty, rough-looking teenagers. But the fact is that the two rowdy teens had saved their daughter, so they could stay—at least until Knuckle was fully recovered, which was quick due to the ability of his sun-class flames.

Days passed and nothing in particular happened, except a lot of questions related to Salvatore's odd behavior, especially towards Knuckle. Celia also saw him practicing with his revolvers on one sunny day and for the first time she was amazed by the man's skills. His accuracy was beyond ordinary. He practiced in the middle of the woods, not far from the French's residence and there he hung some target signs on trees. Even from miles away, he could shoot the sign and the bullet would pierce right in the middle of the center dot. Another mystery was how he managed to set some moving signs in a short time, which were shot accurately as well. Let's just say that he was knowledgeable.

~ Җ ~

At last, the day for them to leave had arrived. After bidding their goodbyes and expressing gratitude, they were off to hit the road again, with Salvatore joining their party. The man himself confessed to be heading towards Sicily as well.

"It happens to be my hometown," he said with a proud smile.

He even insisted in helping them pay the fee to get on the ship, as well as acting as their parents. To get on a ship, they had to be adults or have an adult with them to take responsibility. So, they couldn't refuse since they were still underage—and also broke.

"You have this weird habit of saying extreme, Knuckle," Salvatore commented when they were leaning on the ship's gunwale, enjoying the view of the sea.

"Because life itself is extreme. One must live it to the extreme to overcome any possibilities, as extreme as God's love!"

"And without doubt—a faithful servant of God."

"It can't be helped. He grew up in a church. We are, in fact, going to Lipari to meet a pastor who used to look after him," Celia explained. Salvatore became silent and although it was probably just their imagination, they were certain that his expression turned bitter. His eyes held regret and guilt.

During their short sailing towards Sicily, the odd trio grew to be a real family, despite the fact some mysteries remained veiled. Even though Sicily wasn't that far, they relished their journey discovering the island. Sometimes they'd stay in towns, helping people in need, and work for extra money. There were even boxing competitions too, and although it wasn't a big competition, still it earned Knuckle a few bucks. Salvatore had also helped him in his training.

"Knuckle, how did you get separated from your parents? Were you—by any chance—abandoned?" Salvatore asked, as he led his horse, with Celia on top of it, walking across the vast, low hills.

"That's right! But how did you know?" Knuckle questioned back, walking beside Salvatore. As mysterious as always, the man looked away and answered with a small voice.

"Just an assumption. I don't think anyone would grow up in a church if their parents hadn't abandoned them or still alive."

"Hmm, you're right. But—I'm sure my parents had their reasons."

Salvatore smiled at the optimism. He then revealed himself as someone whose wife and children died during a mafia war. After quitting his job in Rome, he wanted to return to his house in Taormina. Whether he told them the truth or not, it didn't matter, because he had done so much kindness and his eyes reflected genuine sorrow.

~ Җ ~

Taormina was in disarray by the time they set their foot on the small, but supposed-to-be-magnificent town—at least within the town square. The stores were in a mess after receiving attacks from the thugs—the mafia subordinates. One of the merchants was heavily injured as he was lying on the ground. Beside him was a guy with a cap covering his red hair—kneeling and hugging two children. Across him, near the injured merchant, stood two teenagers; one with red hair, and the other with wild, blond hair. Knuckle and Celia were standing amongst the crowds surrounding the youngsters when they saw the blond punching his fist towards the wall beside him—enraged.

"JUST SHUTTING UP AND LOOKING AT THE TOWN FALLING INTO RUIN! I'VE HAD ENOUGH ALREADY!"

The air felt tense after the yell coming from the blond silenced the whole merchants who gathered there. Except for a few murmurs, only the sound of fire crackling was heard as it burnt down the shop belonged to the deceased merchant. The deafening silence made the sight clear, clear for those who had faced death in their life and were chosen. Burning on the forehead of the blond teen was soft, orange flames. It was faint, just like Knuckle's yellow flames.

"He has those weird flames on his forehead Knuckle, like yours, but orange!" whispered Celia with a high-pitched squeal.

Breaking the silence, the boy wearing the cap said, "A vigilante group… Giotto."

"A vigilante group!?" responded the blond, whose name revealed as Giotto.

"If nobody can help us, we must save the town by ourselves. However, in order to do so, we need a powerful leadership that can manage people. Like the sky that can wrap up rain, storm, and even the sun," continued the boy in the cap, "There's no one… But you, Giotto!"

A gasp escaped the mouth of the merchant, who was thought to be dead.

"Franco!" cried Giotto, who rushed to the dying man's side. "Hang in there! G, find some water for him!"

The other redhead who was standing quickly ran to find some water. Before he got far, he bumped into someone and fell.

"H-hey, watch it!"

"Ugh, I'm extremely sorry!" Knuckle, whom the redhead called G was crashed onto, apologized before standing up right away and hurried over to Franco, whose death was near.

"Knuckle!"

Celia was surprised when she saw Knuckle already with those teenagers. Since when did he leave her side?

"What? Since when did Salvatore leave our side?" she thought. Leaving Knuckle behind, she went out of the town square to find Salvatore.

As soon as Knuckle knelt beside Franco, he took out bandages and a few small boxes that appeared to be either medicine or ointment. Using a part of his cloak by ripping it, Knuckle tried to stop the bleeding and tend to Franco's wounds.

"Don't worry, I know a little how to take care of injuries."

The blond turned to face the merchants surrounding and told them that it was okay to leave and clean after their own shops or stands, which were in a mess as well. Turning back to Knuckle, he asked, "Who are you?"

"You can call me Knuckle," he answered while his eyes still focused on Franco.

"Thank you… Knuckle. I'm Giotto."

Knuckle smiled and replied, "I was moved by your rage. They must be extremely wicked to do this to him."

"Yes, that's how this town is for the last few years. Many groups of mafia dominate this town and take advantage of our income," Giotto explained as a frown formed by his lips and his eyebrows were furrowed.

"Hey, kids, look, your papa's okay. He'll be fine, stop crying, alright?" the boy in the cap soothed the children crying in his arms, showing to them Franco who was now wrapped in ripped cloth and bandages.

"Thanks for your help, Knuckle. I'm Cozarto Shimon," he introduced himself with a small smile.

"It's the least I can do."

Soon, their friend who went to find water had come back with a bowl of water and quickly gave it to Franco.

"G, this is Knuckle. Knuckle, this is my friend, G," Giotto introduced.

"Hey, you were the same boy bumped into me earlier! You have an odd name," G stated his opinion, not realizing the oddity of his own name.

"I can say the same. 'G' is extremely short for a name! It's an alphabet!" Knuckle replied with a questioning look.

"Tch, it still sounds better than yours."

"Hey, hey. Please, calm yourself down G."

"My aunt's house is not far from here, we can take Franco and his kids there for now," Cozarto suggested.

Giotto and Knuckle put Franco's hands around their shoulder—together they supported his weight on the way to Cozarto's place. Once arrived and Franco was put to bed, Knuckle bid his farewell, saying he must find his family before night came.

Seeing Knuckle was already far ahead, Cozarto began to speak to his blond friend, "Giotto, did you see yellow flames on his hand when he was tending to Franco's wounds?"

"You saw that!? I thought I was imagining things. It was faint, though."

"Flames? I did see orange traces resembling flame on Giotto's forehead earlier, I thought _I _was imagining things," G added.

"What? On my forehead? No way."

"So you two don't know of it yet… Actually, Giotto, you do have it. But like G said, unlike Knuckle, yours are orange."

The other two stared blankly at Cozarto, having no idea what this yellow or orange flames were about.

"…And… you know of them? What they are and why Giotto has it?" G asked finally. Cozarto nodded. He then went on explaining the seven flames of the sky, which associated with life-force. Those with sky flames are fated leaders, thus the reason why Cozarto spoke of Giotto being a leader of a vigilante group.

~ Җ ~

While Knuckle was busy helping the curious teenagers to help a troubled merchant, Celia hurried back, tracing the path they used upon entering the town. Just when she was about to take a left turn, she heard noises of someone getting beaten. She pressed her body to the wall on her left and sneaked quietly approaching the source of the noises. Turned out that there were two men grunting and crying out in pain, but the beating had stopped. They were apologizing and pleading with whoever attacked them to let them go. Her pupils contracted and she couldn't believe the voice replying.

"Tell your boss that this town is independent! It does not belong to any lowly mobsters like you! I'll take this with me. It belongs to the people of this town!"

"Salvatore?" she thought. She stuck her head a bit to take a peek and saw Salvatore holding a bag of money. Out of nowhere, she felt a gust of wind which smelled bad before she heard a nicker and small neighs coming from her behind.

"Cal!?" Celia whispered loudly.

It was Salvatore's stallion, Caldion. He licked Celia in the face and created noises, making her shushed him before back to spying Salvatore. In front of him were two grown men with dirt and dusts all over their clothes and bruises on their face—who, after sputtering complaints and worries, stood up slowly and went towards the path leaving Taormina. Once it got quiet, Salvatore called her name without looking back.

"Celia."

This startled her and caused her heart to skip a beat. It appeared Caldion was the one who gave her away.

"It's fine, you can come out now."

Slowly coming out from behind the walls, she approached Salvatore and left Cal behind.

"I hope you didn't witness the violence I had to do. I soon noticed what those scums did after seeing the commotion in the town square," he continued.

Letting out a sigh, he remained still, looking towards the path sloped down ahead of them—where wide, green hills from afar could be seen beyond the small houses at the end of the road. Celia could see two small figures slowly walking down below as they were leaving the once beautiful town.

"Years ago, the people of this town were prosperous. Nobody was poor, everyone would help each other. But that was when I was your age. Now everyone I knew back then is either leaving this town or already dead. Still, I have no right to punish those two like that—I, who had once abandoned my own hometown."

"I always think you're weird. You act like you've known Knuckle and me for years, saying that you were just grateful to have saved us. At first you seemed suspicious to me—especially with your marvelous prowess in shooting or fighting. But then you often have that guilt and sad look on your face, and you help people around. To me, it's like you're trying to atone for your past mistakes," said Celia, now standing beside Salvatore.

"I used to feel guilty myself for leaving my parents to die, I kept telling myself I should've died with them. But I realized how much of a waste I'd be if I were to die with them, when I was still able to do so much more, to be useful for someone else. I forgave myself and so should you. So you'll know that even if you have no right to punish them, you have the right to be useful! Right?"

Salvatore smiled and turned to face the girl, muttering in agreement. As the sky started to turn orange, they heard footsteps running from behind them.

Breathing heavily, he stopped running and said, "Finally! I… found you guys."

"Hey, Knuckle, look! Salvatore took back the money stolen from the merchant!" Celia cheered.

"Sweet! I… happen to know where they're staying for now!" Knuckle responded, his eyes were sparkling in contentment. "I'll give it to them tomorrow before we set off on our journey."

~ Җ ~

Salvatore's house was located on the outskirts of town. But since it was a small town, even to head there didn't take much time. His house was near the hills and a bit hidden by the trees as it was by the entrance of the woods. As expected from a house remained ownerless for years, it was dusty and dull. Faint orange lines had fought their way in through the windows, showing wooden debris and broken furniture all over the place.

On a small table was a small photo in black and white. Salvatore took it and brushed the dust covering the photo as it revealed a couple with two children; a boy and a younger girl. He stared at it for some time before he fell on his knees, hugging the piece of the picture, letting out a saddening cry. It was the first time for Knuckle and Celia to see the man falling apart. Slowly, what was only a repressed shrill became a heartbreaking howl, for the room that was once bright and filled with children's laughter was now nothing but a ruin, abandoned in its mourning of passed away resident—except one; the boy in the photo, who smiled as he held hands with his sister and their parents' hands placed on their shoulders.

But it was a long time ago. A time, before that boy chose to leave the town in search of his own luck, taking his sister along with him. Before goodwill set them on the wrong path. Before their hope of someday returning to this room of memories had vanished.

Neither of the teenagers had the courage to ask the man concerning his past, for the amount of the bedrooms in the house spoke for him. One room with a large bed for two along with a drawer and a vanity, another with a bed and filled with wooden toys, and the third one with smaller bed and a small vanity. This house, too, used to be prosperous.

No more words were exchanged between them for the rest of the day.

Early morning the next day, when it was still foggy and mostly were still asleep, Knuckle went for a morning jog with a bag of money in his hand. He intended to stop by Cozarto's aunt. However, when he arrived and was about to knock, he stopped his hand. Staring at the door for some moment, he deemed it wise to leave the money in front of the door. He had written a note inside it, after all, so he didn't need to see Cozarto. What if he got attached to this new group of potential friends? He left the bag of money on the ground and knocked the door before quickly running and hide behind something—a cart! He waited and peeked behind the cart until a woman with wavy, black hair came out from the house. She took a look around before noticing the bag of money. After taking it into her hands, she opened it, and took out a piece of paper and a small box. It was the medicine to treat Franco's wounds. She looked around once again before calling her nephew, Cozarto and finally closed the door. Knuckle smiled in relieve and went back to Salvatore's house.

~ Җ ~

Finally, the day Knuckle would leave for Lipari had finally come. It took years, ever since the church where he grew up had fallen to ruins. It took years from when he had met Celia and promised himself to see Mikael. While it was true, because they were only kids and had no money to begin with, it was also because Knuckle wanted to see more of Italy and help people along the way. There was even a deeper truth; as he journeyed with Celia, the more he was scared he will have to part ways with her once he finally arrived in Lipari. However, it wouldn't be good to delay any more time. Mikael, who had found out about his former church, thought that Father Giuseppe and Knuckle had gone down along with the church.

"I'll come with you to Lipari," said Salvatore that noon upon parting with Knuckle and Celia, who was already fully prepared. The man, too, was actually prepared already.

Knuckle answered, "Hm? But… you've dreamed of coming back here, right? You really don't have to-"

"It's my choice. Both of you are already like a daughter and a son to me. You can't get on the ship without an adult, after all," he chuckled. "Don't worry. I'll come back here once I meet the pastor who took care of you."

Celia, who was smiling when she heard Salvatore would join them, was now frowning, knowing the man will leave them after all. Knuckle, too, began to frown. They had grown too fond of Salvatore to part ways with him in the end. Especially for Celia, she had promised Knuckle to accompany him all the way to Lipari, so it wouldn't be easy to leave him once they reached Lipari. And although they had only met Salvatore a few months ago, they found a figure of a father in him. It couldn't make them any happier; Knuckle, who never had any father—only a brother and a grandfather figure, who also died—and Celia, who once lived with his loving father but had to see him die in front of her own eyes.

"What's with the long faces, you two? We'll still be together for—maybe a month! So, cheer up!" Salvatore said while gently slapping their cheeks, to shock them out of their gloominess. Passing through the two, he went on leading the way with Caldion beside him.

"Let's hit the road!"

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong> : Finally updating this one! While I'm excited to write The First Moon (Giotto x OC), I'll have to post one or two more chapters for this one in order to catch up with the timeline in The First Moon. Anyway, I did say I won't draw characters that have no special bonds/vital influence in the story. But if anyone would like to request, I'd be happy to do it! :) Until next chapter ~ !


End file.
